Tuesday, November 14, 2006

The EPA Should Hire Me

Apparently, the EPA doesn't have proofreaders.

And, this entry will bore the pants off anyone not in my field ...

In today's Federal Register, the EPA published a new final rule in regards to Section 12(b) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Under Section 12(b), exporters of chemical substances are required (in some instances) to notify EPA that they are exporting those chemicals. The EPA then sends letters to the countries which are receiving those chemicals.

Currently, there are no de minimis amounts for those exports, meaning no matter if you are exporting 1 gram or 1000 pounds of a chemical, you have to file an export notification. Which, if you think about it, is pretty stupid.

So, the EPA published a new rule which sets de minimis amounts for certain chemicals.

In the Federal Register, the EPA states in the preamble to the rule that

"EPA is finalizing the requirement that export notification will not be required for chemical substances or mixtures if the chemical is being exported at a concentration of less that 1% (by weight or volume), unles that chemical substance is a known or potential human carcinogen ... For such chemicals, a de minimis concentration level of less than 0.1% (by wieght or volume) will apply." [71 FR 66236]

Later, when the EPA lists the new amended regulations as they will appear in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), there is a glaring omission:

40 CFR 707.60 (c) (2) states "No notice of export is required for the export of a chemical substance or mixture that is a known or potential human carcinogen." [71 FR 66244]

*heh* They forgot to include the de minimis concentration level in the actual regulations! According to the CFR (effective on January 17, 2007, unless a correction is filed), exporters can ship human carcinogens at any concentration without notifying EPA! *HAH!*

After pointing this out to the EPA technical contact, we got the following response:

I am afraid we have to do a correction notice. 707.60 (c) (2) should say "No notice of export is required for the export of a chemical substance or mixture that is a known or potential human carcinogen where such chemical substance or mixture is present in a concentration of less than 0.1% (by weight or volume)."